Sarah Michelle Gellar on Kids, ‘Buffy’, and Her Favorite Onscreen NSFW Costume
When the reboot queen isn’t revisiting old onscreen universes, she loves travelling to new places.
If three’s a trend, then Sarah Michelle Gellar is the reboot queen. Not only is the actress starring in the Dexter: Original Sin universe, but she’ll also reprise her title character in the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer and join the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer in an “unofficial capacity.” With a portfolio full of cult favorites, from Cruel Intentions to Scooby Doo, fans want more SMG, and she’s delivering.
“As an actor, you hope that you do work that means something and that stands the test of time,” Gellar says, reflecting on Buffy Anne Summers’s long-lasting pop cultural impact. “The fact that Buffy, through all of these years, is still that character to so many people, it’s really the ultimate gift.”
Although Gellar relishes in revisiting legendary onscreen worlds, in real life, she loves traveling to new places with the kids she shares with husband Freddie Prinze Jr,: Charlotte Grace and Rocky James.
When it comes to Europe, for instance, Gellar prefers train travel, as it makes her feel more present. “You get to see so much more of these places, so being able to soak in as much, see little towns, see how people live, and be able to not just look at clouds when you’re going from place to place, it’s really special,” she says, adding that Trainline is her go-to website when it comes to booking tickets. “Trains always seem so glamorous to me, too. Maybe I just saw too many Bond movies, but [with] European train travel, I just want to see people in glamorous outfits.”
Ahead, Gellar gives InStyle an inside scoop on her family vacations, her favorite (and vert NSFW) onscreen costume, and her thoughts on a Scooby-Doo reboot.
What are three must-haves in your travel bag?
Number one: Biodance masks that you leave on when you sleep on a train. They dissolve into your face, and you feel way better and refreshed when you wake up in the morning. Music is always a big one. Just having the right soundtrack to everything is always really important. And, snacks are very important, especially if you’re travelling with kids. My favorite junk food travel snack would probably be Chex Mix, and I always have protein bars.
When traveling with family, who’s the packer, the planner, the sleeper, and the complainer?
I’m the planner. Making lists is my happy place. I use Google Maps a lot. If I see someone on Instagram go on a trip somewhere and the food looks amazing, I’ll mark it. Or, if a friend gets back and says, “Oh, I got this at this little shop outstside Paris,” I’ll mark it, so that when I hopefully get to these places, I already have lists of places I want to visit. Packing wise, we all pack ourselves. My kids, from a young age, really liked packing for themselves. They like taking that authority, and it made them excited to go and research, whether it was what the weather is going to be like or what the activities are. My kids are amazing travelers.
Do you have any summer travel plans? Perhaps for your and Freddie’s 23rd wedding anniversary on September 1?
It’s tricky when you’re a two-actor household. We can’t plan in advance. We’re very last minute travelers, which is another reason why the train works so great, because there’s so many more options. Being able to use Trainline and figure out, “Okay, we can get from here to here” takes away the stress that last-minute travelers have. And, being a person that is much more OCD and loves lists, last-minute travel is not my favorite. Our anniversary, though, is always the first weekend of school; that really narrows down traveling that weekend.
You attended Paris Fashion Week with Balenciaga and served up a real vampire slayer moment in February Is that what you were going for?
What’s funny is, I thought The Matrix. That’s how my brain works, like, I don’t think of the iconic thing [Buffy the Vampire Slayer]. You kind of take yourself out of it. It was only afterwards, when people brought that up, I was like, “Oh, yeah. That, too.”
What was your favorite part about attending the show?
Just the magic of all of it. There’s something very magical about Paris Fashion Week. From wherever you are, you see the Eiffel Tower all lit up and Parisians dressed to the nines for a regular day. Just being a part of that culture.
Describe your perfect day in Paris. Where is your must-stay, must-dine, and must-do?
I used to be a Park Hyatt girl in Paris, but I just stayed at The Peninsula, and it was absolutely lovely. The spa at The Peninsula was heavenly. Where to dine? There’s so many places. Honestly, my favorite thing about paris – and this just happened to ]me and my friends] – is we couldn’t figure our where we wanted to go fo lunch, so we just walked into the first place we saw. The food was so phenomenal. It was just a corner restaurant on a street we were on, and it had some of the best French onion soup I’ve ever had. But I do recommend the bartenders at The Peninsula. I mean, Tom Cruise in Cocktail could learn a few things from these bartenders.
What’s your favorite onscreen costume ever?
Oh, that’s a great question, and a question I’ve never been asked before. What I want to answer is so inappropriate: Kathryn [from] Cruel Intentions with the cross [necklace], but that’s a horrible thing to say! Like, that should not be anyone’s favorite.
What’s a quality of Buffy’s that you try to emulate?
She always tried to find the bright side of every situation, whether it was humor, whether it was self deprecation. Her life was pretty tough, but she managed to find a smile, and I think that’s something we could all learn from her.
Will the Buffy boots be back?
They’re in my closet! The green boots are in my closet. I mean, they have to, right? What’s the modern version of that? Buffy is a boot girl. I don’t see Buffy running around in a pair of Sambas.
Speaking of fabulous boots, Daphne’s purple go-go boots are iconic. Would you and Freddie to a Scooby Doo reboot?
I’ve learned my lesson, which is never say never. For years, I was like, “I can’t touch Buffy,” and clearly my thoughts on that changed. I don’t see it in the cards, but I stopped saying no. But those purple boos were a replica of a pair of Christian Louboutin boots that I loved so much. I brought then to Leesa Evans, the costume designer, and she had then custom done in all the purple. I’m a boots girl.
Selma Blair told me her son, Arthur, recently watched Cruel Intentions. Do your kids watch your movies and shows?
No, no, no, Arthur! But, not really. I think for them, it’s kind of cringe. I know Charlotte hasn’t watched Cruel Intentions because she’s like, “That’s just weird. That’s too many of my friends’ parents.” And Rocky would not be into it. They saw Scooby Doo, but I didn’t show it to them. They’ve seen I Know What You Did Last Summer. They like that one.
Original article at InStyle.
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